We were lucky to catch up with Courtney Garrett recently and have shared our conversation below.

Courtney, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Let’s jump right into how you came up with the idea?

In my mid-twenties, I discovered I had a passion for teaching the Bible which eventually led me to pursue a master’s degree in Christian Education from Dallas Theological Seminary. After I completed my studies, I served as the Director of Women’s Discipleship at Grace Bible Church in Houston for several years. I loved my job because I built many meaningful relationships and learned so much about how people come to a knowledge of God and the truth. My job entailed teaching women the Bible and equipping women to lead others. I was also able to help women learn how they could take what they had learned and share it with others; however, when it came to sharing their faith, many women felt stuck. They lacked the confidence and a tool to share their beliefs and convictions. I would often get asked for help with this process, and I never had a solid resource to recommend. It was frustrating because I felt like it shouldn’t be that difficult to find a ground-level introduction to Christianity. After searching high and low for what I was looking for, I came up empty-handed. I ultimately decided to create the tools I had been searching for and 101 Christianity was born.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

Many people wrestle with unanswered questions about faith. Since we live in a post-modern, post-truth culture, it’s no wonder there is so much confusion. Just the assertion that absolute, objective truth exists is an offensive idea for many people; however, when you really study Christianity there are compelling reasons to believe in the existence of God, the reliability of the Bible, and that Jesus Christ lived, died, and was resurrected.

If someone has never explored Christianity or has perhaps put their faith on the shelf for many years, it is well worth reinvestigating Christianity and the claims Jesus made. Like C.S. Lewis said, “Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance, the only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

I believe my calling is to create resources that can simply explore and explain the building blocks to understanding the fundamentals of the Christian faith. So many of us, even those of us who have grown up in the church, have gaps in our understanding that we live with for years. Without a firm knowledge of the basics, there will not be a solid faith foundation to build your life on.

Is there a particular goal or mission driving your creative journey?

My vision and mission for 101 Christianity is to see ordinary believers empowered to share their faith with others. I say ordinary because I mean everyday people like you and me. I don’t bring anything special to the table, and even with a seminary degree, I have fears of rejection. We live in a consumer culture, and Christianity is no different. People go to church week in and week out thinking, “What am I going to get out of this?” It’s very “me-centered.” This isn’t the Christian life the way the Bible explains it. We are called to give our lives away for the glory of God. We are called to point other people to Jesus who is the only one who provides a remedy for our sin. We are called to turn away from the idols of comfort and ease and be willing to get out of our comfortable lives and take risks so that others can come to the knowledge of the truth. I want to live this way, and I want to encourage others to get off the sidelines and be willing to take the courageous steps to help others learn about Jesus.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Social media is a strange place, and while I think it can be helpful, it can also be a distraction. I’d rather have fewer followers that are bought into the mission than have a large following of people that aren’t concerned or interested. One of the goals of my ministry is to invite people to be leaders using the 101 Christianity studies, so you can say I have a goal of more leaders, not just followers! It may be an unpopular thing to say, but building my audience on social media is not of major importance to me.

Contact Info:

• Website: 101christianity.com
• Instagram: @courtney_garrett_
• Youtube: 101 Christianity

Image Credits
Heacox Creative